I know Digital Extremes likes to show up with surprises every so often. But dropping a decently sized patch for Soulframe out of the blue a couple of days ago was not on my radar. It took the community by storm for a few reasons. This patch introduced 2 major systems (with one being a preview) and 2 minor ones. The major ones definitely need going over as they are going to fundamentally shape the future of the game (no, really). Starting with…
The Preview of the New Loot System in Soulframe
In their most recent Devstream, they emphasized the fact that they want players to have more loot and loot variety out of the gate. Letting players just earn cool new gear to play around with really gives Soulframe a better start out of the gate. They started this system with the new heavy mace in the game that is already winning over my heart, which loves the heavy swords in the game (after winning over staves, I am not a loyal man). This mace can be dropped by a specific boss, guaranteed or almost guaranteed by bannerets that use them.
This heavy mace can be used immediately, by just going to your Nightfold and equipping it, no crafting required. It also comes in different rarities that allow for more “Tempers” to be applied to it. The best one I have acquired in my hours of grinding it out consists of it having electrical damage arcs, more damage when using the heavy attack, faster throwing speed, and even more damage when dodging and attacking at the same time. If it is not clear from this description, Soulframe is going to become more of a “looter” game than a crafting game like Warframe in its next full Preludes update.
The heavy mace is nothing to scoff at either; it builds up the stagger meter quickly, its heavy attack is a hilarious spinning strike that hits twice, and just generally feels amazing to use in the heat of battle. However, this new loot system that came with it also highlights something that Digital Extremes needs to keep in mind.
Non-Craftable Items Have to be Removed from the Store
No tip-toeing around this. If weapons are going to now start dropping like candy for players, the whole weapons tab needs to be removed from Zenith’s store. Considering Warframe has a similar layout for its game due to the crafting and grinding for parts that have become part and parcel of the experience.
Soulframe leaning into the “looter” genre and letting fully built weapons drop indicates a need for a change in the microtransaction store. I feel as though every weapon that will be dropped needs to be removed from this store, as it would just not make any sense in my eyes. Especially if buying one would have random rolls on it, this would eventually lead to the system feeling like a “lootbox” dispenser. As if the option is there, players could just try for multiple versions, hoping for the weapon to have the tempers and rarity they want.
If crafting is still going to be a thing as well for the game, it needs to be restricted to the Wyld’s and top-tier gear (legendary/mythic in other games) that need to be farmed out or bought in a specific bundle. I also think armor needs to go this same route, too, not just delisting from Zenith’s store, but also having random rolls when you acquire them. Digital Extremes should also allow for players to have some way of modifying tempers on already existing weapons if they have a high tier (or, in my case, almost every weapon crafted and almost max level) to ensure player time investment is respected.
(Another) Virtue Change
This is a very small mention because I admittedly use static loadouts as I found what worked and what didn’t for endgame play. In Preludes 13, they turned Virtue values into equippable items called Prisms. Prisms were earnable and admittedly limiting in variety, but they were a good streamlined approach. Preludes 14.5 for Soulframe made Virtue alignment into a slider that you have to use a very specific and very rare resource to change the values of.
I never received a signal drop of the consumable when playing this new update and killing open-world bosses, and if it’s going to be that rare, Digital Extremes should just revert this system back to Prisms or just allow players to use the slider as they please for Dracs (non-premium game currency) or something.
World Trees in Soulframe Can Now be Used for Matchmaking (Sort of)
Another big change in Preludes 14.5 was allowing players to see each other in the open world. This is an immersive approach (similar to Dark Souls bonfires) that allows players to see if there are players near them to invite and start a play session with.
You cannot see player names when they are moving around, but inspecting them gives you two pieces of information about them. Their loadouts and their names, so you can message them, befriend them, or just see what they’re using for loadout ideas.
This system is a great idea to let players just find each other and group up if they want to, as opposed to scrolling recruitment chat and talking to players directly (some of us are introverts). A recent hotfix also upped the party size to 4 from 3. I just hope this system will be implemented in a way that lets others group up at dungeons or sieges as well.
Swimming and Roaming Story Characters are in the Game
One thing I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see happen was the addition of swimming in Soulframe. It’s a cool idea, but nothing in the game was built with swimming in mind, so seeing this feature added does make me interested in what they could do with this new tech.
Finally, they also added the ability for players to run into Omen Beasts, major characters in the overall story of Soulframe. Orengall, the wolf omen beast, can give you a few different buffs that last nearly a day. The one I definitely picked over the others was the XP increase because I needed to level up the new mace quicker. It’s a cool little addition to offer a little more immersion for the game world. Seeing these characters once, and then never again, felt like a waste to me.
Closing Remarks on Soulframe Preludes 14.5
I was not expecting this update to drop as early as it did, and giving a glimpse at where Soulframe is heading in terms of loot and online functions is honestly great. I will have to reserve judgment for the full Preludes 15 update to see how all weapons, armor, and talismans are handled. But seeing them take this first big step forward is very exciting. I hope in-game players can be visible in more serious activities as well, but the World Tree approach is already great to see.
I do not know when Preludes 15 drops, but it is definitely going to be a very exciting update for Soulframe. Please stay tuned for our critique of it when it launches, maybe this month or next month.
Thank you for reading!
